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Oct. 28, 2011
Planting seeds for the future
Landscape architect talks to students about KDHS’s biblical garden.
MICHELLE DODEK
It is rare that Sukkot in Vancouver is celebrated each day and night in the sukkah without rain. Everyone hopes for a few chances to enjoy a sukkah over the week but when the holiday falls in mid-October the chances of a dry chag dwindle. This year, Vancouverites were blessed with some of the most gorgeous weather of the year and King David High School’s (KDHS) gamble to host an outdoor Sukkot celebration and garden rededication paid off.
On Oct. 18, which happened to be the sunniest and warmest day of Sukkot, the school hosted a special tour of their biblical garden with its creator, internationally acclaimed landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander. Students, staff and guests had a chance to hear from Oberlander about how the garden was inspired and came together.
Oberlander explained the genesis of the legacy project to the group assembled on the sun-flooded south-facing part of the garden. The concept was based on a biblical passage, she said, quoting Psalm 104, verse 24: “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy creatures.” She went on to describe the year and a half of research needed to find the plants she envisioned for this garden. An ambitious plan developed to surround the school with plants that are native to Israel and are hardy in Vancouver’s climate.
The layout of the plants also reflects the varied geography and species of the regions of the biblical land of Israel. Represented are the coastal plain, the hill country, the Jordan valley and the Negev. Each region has representative vegetation and symbolic topography. For instance, the hill country is exemplified by what Oberlander calls “a modest Mount David” on the east side of the basketball court. It features a “stately cedar of Lebanon.” And Oberlander found pomegranate bushes tough enough to withstand Vancouver’s climate and apple and fig trees and grape vines that bear fruit for the school’s Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot celebrations.
The botanically labeled garden (with Latin, English and Hebrew names of the plants) is not only beautiful and of symbolic importance. It is designed as a lasting legacy. “It will achieve a learning experience for multi-disciplinary education with the active support of teachers, students and parents,” explained Oberlander. Each year, grain crops of wheat, barley and rye are planted in the terraced, east-facing Jordan Valley area of the garden. Students not only participate in the planting but also in the harvest, an attempt to connect them to the rhythms of the natural world and food production. The representations of six of the seven biblical species, which are visible from the interior of the school, serve to “give students an increased understanding of [the] festivals and traditions of our heritage,” Oberlander added.
The garden also follows the principles of sustainability, a longtime feature of Oberlander’s landscape designs and a topic that is clearly of interest to today’s students. During her address, Oberlander focused her comments regarding sustainability at the students. “We must not take more from the earth than we give back,” she said. “That is the principal of sustainability.” The water-harvesting system that funnels run-off water from the roof of the school into the reed garden featured along the south side of the property is but one example of sustainable practices at the school’s garden, and Oberlander pointed out that water harvesting was also done in ancient times. As well, groundcover that retains moisture and chokes out weeds under the unusual plants in the “Willow of the Brook” area also exemplifies sustainable gardening practices.
Parent Advisory Committee member Frances Kirson said her role is to ensure that the garden maintains its prominent place in the school’s culture. “I am organizing a group of students who will determine the direction and content of an interactive tour through the garden. We want people to know what they are seeing,” she told the Independent.
One of those students is Carmel Laniado, described by KDHS principal Russ Klein as an environmentalist and artist. Laniado told the Independent that she loves the biblical garden. She appreciates that the garden embodies principles of environmentalism, and she finds the beauty of the garden inspiring for her various art projects. Laniado is excited with the plan to develop the interactive tour of the garden and hopes to have the chance to learn more about the garden directly from Oberlander.
Having such a prominent landscape architect contribute to the surroundings of KDHS has been a huge honor for the school, said development director Sharon Dwek. Oberlander has worked with architectural legends Moshe Safdie and Arthur Erikson, and she has left her mark not only on prominent places in Vancouver, including the Museum of Anthropology, but also around the world, including the New York Times Building courtyard in New York City.
A jewel in the crown of the Jewish community, the biblical garden at KDHS is a must-see for members of the community. In his remarks to those assembled, Klein encouraged the students to think ahead. Someday, he said, they may send their children to KDHS, where future generations will be able to enjoy and learn from the garden.
Michelle Dodek is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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